Angel's Share Title
Pacto Navio
Last year while visiting Havana, Cuba with my wife we discovered this rum in the Havana Club Museo de Ron Gift shop. The name comes from the 1815 treaty that declared peace between Cuba and France. The rums in the blend were distilled and aged at the distillery located in San Jose De Las Lajas. The company does not share the ages of the ten rums in the blends, but after the maturation process the rums are blended and aged for an additional time period in used French Sauternes wine casks. The rum is finally bottled at 40% ABV.The inspiration behind this rum is the historic trade between France and Cuba in the 1700’s. France would ship Sauternes wine to Cuba and then after the casks were emptied they were refilled with Cuban aguardiente and developed a distinct flavor profile in the three month voyage back to France.
Appearance
The 700 mL bottle has a cool compass embossed around the top of the glass and the label share some details about the historical inspiration that led to the creation of the product. It is sealed with a wood capped synthetic cork.
Pacto Navio
In the bottle the rum has a mahogany color, but lightens to dark amber when poured in the glass. Swirling the liquid creates a medium band that drops on a series of legs before beading up around the glass.
Nose
The aroma is interesting with notes of caramel, Madagascar vanilla, peach cobbler, candied apricots, charred oak, cardamom, honeysuckle and orange blossoms.
Palate
From the first sip the alcohol wraps the tongue and the sweetness of the spirit sweeps over the tongue and teeth. Additional sips reveal caramelized vanilla, mandarin orange, cloves, cinnamon, bitter dried orange peel dancing with charred oak tannins. Then, as the rum begins to fade, dried apricots and peach cobbler flavors emerge and carry the rum in a long finish.
Review
This is the kind of rum that makes me enjoy being a spirits writer. I truly can say I have never had anything quite like it and enjoyed the exploration of the liquid. The aroma is intriguing and the flavor profile is quite complex, if not a tad sweeter than what I typically enjoy. This is one spirit I will be happy to share with friends and save for after meal enjoyment. I have a feeling my friend, Philip Barake, will enjoy pairing this with one of his fine cigars. If you enjoy rums that are on the sweeter side of the spectrum, this one is worth picking up for your sipping pleasure.
